William Kresky

Hailing from Kitchener, Ontario, Kresky grew up eating “meat and potatoes” in a home that adjoined a country club whose dining outlet he joined at age 15. The attraction was immediate. “The minute I walked into the kitchen, I saw this massive man chopping a chicken with a cleaver, and that was it.” The chefs talked like they were “in a pub in a pirate movie. It was the craziest thing.” Assigned to make wraps part-time, the work was relentless, but he was never intimidated, adopting an attitude of “watch me do it” and taking inspiration from the positive reactions of guests.

Kresky eschewed culinary school, bending to his parents’ preference for a college education, but continued to grow his skills in the school’s catering department. He also landed a dishwashing gig on the opening team of Richmond Station, a bustling addition to the Toronto dining scene co-owned by a winner of Top Chef Canada. When a spot opened up in the kitchen, he jumped at it, though it meant going to school in the morning and cooking from noon to midnight. “I passed my courses by the skin of my teeth. I’d always sit in the front row so I wouldn’t fall asleep.”

He stayed with the restaurant after college, working his way to sous chef before seeking success in the US. The move took him straight to the top, with turns at renowned restaurants such as French Laundry and Bouchon Bistro in Napa Valley, Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in the Hudson Valley. When his visa situation got complicated, he returned to Toronto and landed as a sous chef at Alo, which had just been named the best restaurant in Canada.

Finally, in 2020, Kresky returned to Richmond Station as chef de cuisine and was soon promoted to executive chef. So, how did he end up joining Four Seasons at age 30 in 2024? By impressing a former colleague at Alo, who now heads the front of the house at Café Boulud.

“When he reached out about leading the kitchen, I couldn’t say no,” Kresky recalls with delight. “The opportunity to work with Daniel Boulud and Four Seasons was too intriguing to pass by.”